On Friday, April 8 about 10 minutes ’til 2 in the afternoon, according to Oakwood Fire Chief, Kenny Thomas, a call came in for a fire—nearly an hour after it closed after lunch. He drove there with the firefighters and were the first to arrive at the location.

Quickly, the Oakwood Fire Department moved on the scene with hoses, breaking the windows and flooding the structure with water. At one point he thought they had the fire nearly under control. Suddenly, the fire reached into the ceiling, catching some kind of flammable material and causing the flames to proliferate

Soon fire departments around the area arrived to combat the flaming foe and the newly realized energy of the heavy black smoke billowing out. Paulding brought in their ladder truck to stop the flames from above while Cecil arrived with their tanker truck. “It was just a bad time of day for a fire.” stated Thomas, “Not that there is a good time, but this was especially bad with people at work and shift changes.”

While the volunteers were working, the Morning Star Gas Station & Convenience store brought in food to give sustenance to all the workers. The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office was there keeping order and blocking traffic on the State Highway 613 to keep the locale safe and Red Cross setup operations to provide relief.

So much water was trucked in using tankers that it nearly drained Oakwood’s water tower. Chief Thomas said the ground was too soft from the recent rain and they couldn’t get trucks to pump water from the nearby ponds. There is no city water system and therefore no fire hydrants in the town. When they couldn’t use the local water, it was thought, “Why not use the water that’s running off the structure?” So, a pump was put in the catch basin and reused on the same fire. What great thinking!

The weather was nasty which didn’t help much. Rain, heavy sleet, and snow would randomly spray from the heavens.

The fire was out by 6:00 pm with several hot spots still burning under the fallen metal roof. The Fire Marshall was investigating the structure and checking out where and why the fire may have started. It was speculated by one expert on the scene that it may have started in the back of the building near the west corner.

Firemen were continuing to watch the structure as several departments started to pack up and head back to their origins. The wind began to pick up again and it could be a concern for the volatile structure. They certainly don’t want it start up again.

As many as 50+ volunteers helped out at this devastating disaster and they all did a great job. Only one injury was reported. Departments that helped out included: Auglaize, Cecil, Paulding, Oakwood, Grover Hill, Payne, Continental, Scott, and others.

“We are whipped!” said Allen Sharp, firefighter. It was a lot of work getting it all under control.

This landmark will certainly be missed and we are sad for the owners. Uncle Fudd’s had great food and fun entertainment and everyone around knew it. We miss you and we would love to see you back!

The Pirates of Continental high school ventured west to compete in the Palace of the Wayne Trace Raiders on Tuesday, December 22nd. The Raiders started the game strong leading in the first quarter 17-10. The Pirates battled back in the 2nd half topping 9 points by the half time buzzer while Wayne Trace only ticked off 8. That was all she wrote for any chance of a Pirate upset though as the Raiders came out of the half time gate adding 18 in the 3rd quarter and an additional 12 by the end of the game. Final score racked up another win for the Raider record: 55-39.

Score by the Quarter:

Wayne Trace – 17 8 18 12=55

Continental – 10 9 11 9=39

Scorers of the Game:

Wayne Trace – Linder 22, Speice 8, Sinn 7, Vest 7, Miller 6, Stabler 5

Continental – Williams 9, Stauffer 9, Olds 8, Williamson 8, Brecht 3, Krendl 2

Rebounds – Wayne Trace 26, Continental 21

Turnovers – Wayne Trace 10, Continental 22

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The Woodburn Chamber of Commerce had a fantastic evening on Thursday, April 26 at the American Legion Post 377 on Main Street. This is the first annual banquet the chamber put forth for the members.

Kevin Heckley of Heckley Auto gave the Invocation and following that was the dinner for all invited.

The entertainment was put on by Richard Ash, owner of Folkcraft, the largest manufacturer of American dulcimers. Richard described the instrument as one of two truly American instruments developed about 200 years ago in the Appalachian mountains. The company was founded in 1968.

Richard said Folkcraft has recently added a 200 seat auditorium to its manufacturing facility for live shows, bringing in artists from all over the United States and various part of the world. He is convinced Woodburn could use a hotel close by because of all that is going on.

Even though he is a chamber member himself, he played many songs and was incredible in his musical abilities to paint a beautiful picture of colorful songs and tones. The lap sitting instrument is very unique yet has drone similarities to the Scottish bagpipes.

The Chamber president, Beth Wood from Indiana Wild, also had all of the people introduce themselves and what they do in the area. Hearing what other people do in the area to help the community work and grow is really fantastic.

Beth MC’d the business meeting. There have been many new things started recently and the Chamber meeting highlighted this, including the Merchant Tent at the Summerfest and Meet Me at Noon.

Cory Pickens, Dean Gerig, Joe Kelsey were all elected as board members.

There are upcoming open houses including Ramco, Midwest Tile and Loves.

Lynn Rorick talked about the Industrial Park and how they are looking at 40 and 60 more acres.

He mentioned the Cold Storage facility is beginning phase 2 – a $6 million application for expansion has been submitted.

Gloria Gerig was there to talk about the 150th anniversary of Woodburn and what the Historical Society is doing to make this a success by putting out a new book. She also won the door prize.

Spring is a great time for the final concert of the year and having a dinner to go along with the music, prepared by Grant’s Catering, makes it all the more fulfilling.

Mr. Don Clark, the Paulding Band Director, has now been at Paulding for five years. He has turned the program completely around and more young people are joining. The quality of the band is very good. This year the band earned a Superior rating in all categories of qualifications at the District Competition. The band will move on to the state competition in early May. “This is the first time since the 1970’s the band has won Districts three years on a row.” stated Director Clark.

Following the dinner was the Silent Auction and all of the items were purchased, raising quite a bit of money for the Paulding Band Boosters. Jason Klingler won the 50/50 contest.

The Elementary Bands from Paulding & Oakwood started the evening. Following their performance was the Middle School Band. Both of the younger bands played well above the level a person would expect for musicians of these age groups. Lastly, the High School Band played a number of feature songs, all having to do with creatures. Between each of the band’s songs an animal was presented by Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo and displayed to the dinner guests.

It was a fine evening for the boosters with their largest attendance ever, filling the entire high school gym. Great job to all the Band Members for proudly representing Paulding Schools!

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The road for Wayne Trace to State has been a long one. Through winding paths and incredible rebounds, the team has been able to make comebacks you wouldn’t believe. At the same time they have been able to dominate early and often. Following victory to state is what the Raider Nation fans were travelling for on Thursday March 26 to the Schottenstein’s Value City Arena in Columbus.

The game began with a confident group of young men on both sides of the court. David Sinn went to the center circle for the first jump. The game began with Harvest Preparatory School

taking the first possession. Back and forth a couple of times the game moved before the first basket by Cole Shepherd of Wayne Trace. The first period for Wayne Trace was quite rough and may have been the difficulty facing the Raiders. Early on the home team easily took a 10 point lead. Corbin Linder normally has good access to the three point basket but not this morning. He had someone on him the entire game, so much so, it was like bumper stickers on a politician’s car. The entire match Linder was able to put up only one 3 pointer successfully.

After reviewing the numbers, the biggest problem for the Raiders was they had found a team that played the game similar to them, and this made it rather difficult as they had no time to prepare against their own style. The pressure was seen as very similar from following games throughout this 2015 season. Perhaps the biggest difference this game was the

inconsistency that the Winchester school presented. In the first period alone they racked up 22 to the Raiders’ 13. The visiting team got the second period offense under control and stopped the scoring spree presented by Harvest and reversed the trend, now doubling the score of the Warriors in the second period. Half the points in the first half were posted by Ethan Linder. Luke Miller and Corbin Linder also added three points baskets in this period. The Raiders brought the game back under control with a halftime score 25-28. One of the wrenches in the Raider tool belt for winning games became the problem in this match. Three point baskets were a BIG problem for a team that relies heavily on them. In the first half, only two were hit for Wayne Trace, while six were pushed through the hoop for Harvest.

The third quarter went better for Wayne Trace — actually both teams performed about equal. The Raiders hit 14 points and the lead was now narrowed down to only 1 point for the home team. At one time the Raiders even tied the game in the third.

Beginning the fourth quarter the Raiders took the lead by 3 points. It was not to be long lived though. The Burgundy & Gray had their best period, while the Raiders struggled with their identity in the final three and four minutes of the game. David Sinn was performing well under the basket, and Ethan Linder was pretty good across the court as well. Luke Miller struggled in a couple of places and points were certainly not up compared to his usual game.

In the heat of the final 60 seconds, the Raiders added a few points, bringing the difference back to eight points. The game then finished with a slam dunk by Rael Windley, marking the end of the game and bringing a close to the season of one of the finest teams this area has watched.
Coach Jim Linder was disheartened by the loss along with the players and the fans. It’s been a great season with a 25-2 record. Upon this, the Raiders having taken the last three GMC titles. Linder stated this was the current seniors’ third year for accumulating 20 or more wins in a season.

The West Bend News has been following the team the entire season and are proud to have been able to supply the Ohio State Tournament (OHSAA) booklet with the Wayne Trace Basketball Team picture for this event!

It was still a great game for this team. Congratulations to the Wayne Trace boys on this incredible season and getting a chance to go to the Schott!

More pictures from this and the other tournaments here:

Score by Quarter:
Wayne Trace: 13 12 14 14 = 53
Harvest Prep: 22 6 12 23 = 63

Score by Player:
Wayne Trace: Luke Miller 3; Ethan Linder 22; Cole Shepherd 6; Corbin Linder 7; David Sinn 15.
Harvest Prep: Charles Aden 9; David Dennis 19; Jordan Clark 5; Dana Coffman 22; Rael Windley 8.

Pictures by Jarrison Steiner or Bryce Steiner of the West Bend News. Small or Large prints or posters are available of any of the tournament games.

Boys Basketball teams, Paulding and Ottawa-Glandorf, competed for the opportunity to play in the District Championship game. This tournament game took place on Thursday, March 12 at the Anthony Wayne High School in Whitehouse, Ohio. Previously Paulding won the sectional championship against Liberty Center, enabling them to move on this game.

First quarter began and was quite close between the competitors. The teams were only one point apart when the buzzer stopped the game. Ben Heilshorn posted a nice three point basket. Alex Arellano and Corbin Edwards each added one basket. Nathan Gee was fouled on the shot and was able to add two singles to the score.

In the second period the Titans started early scoring while the Panthers took a bit to get points rolling in. Glandorf’s Brad Recker was quick to get 6 posted and they quickly took a 10 point lead over the guest team. About four minutes left on the clock and Paulding’s Arellano got three in a row for six and the student section is getting excited. Gonzales was also doing well with 4 fouls shots and a two point basket. The half ended at 21-24.

I Can’t really pin-point what went wrong for the Paulding team when the second half fell apart. Gonzales and Arellano were being guarded more and when they shot it just wasn’t going in like the previous period. The Titans were pressing and the offense was working well for them. Both the third and four quarters they added 18 points to Paulding’s 9 and 10.

The last period for Paulding was still a struggle and the Titans were continuing their pressure that Paulding just couldn’t break. When Paulding was fouled in the second half, less than 50% of the shots were made. This didn’t contribute well to the team score. The game finished with the Titans taking the game at 60-40.

Overall Paulding finished the season breaking even at 12-12. These boys did well and will be looking forward to next year, of course, after a nice break. The teams says goodbye and good luck to seniors Brad Crawford, Ben Heilshorn, Treston Gonzales, and Christian Burtch.

Score by Quarter:
Paulding: 9 12 9 10 = 40
Ottawa-Glandorf: 10 14 18 18 = 60

Score by Player:
Paulding: Edwards 7, Gee 2, Heilshorn 4, Gonzales 13, Arellano 12, Burtch 2.
Ottawa Glandorf: Verhoff 8, Schripke 9, Untvbrink 3, Osting 2, Weihrauch 1, Kuhlman 6, Recker 12, Blevins 2, Bromlage 17.

More pictures at westbendnews.net

The Antwerp Archers Boys basketball team came off the Stryker sectional victory all fired up and ready to play the Wayne Trace Raiders. The game followed the intense match between Hicksville and Edgerton at the Van Wert High School Facility.

The game began with Antwerp’s Matt Jones grabbing the tipoff, dribbling down court and shooting a 3-point basket. Entering the score was Wayne Trace with 3, 2-point baskets between Luke Miller, Corbin Linder, and Seth Saylor in the next few seconds. Antwerp retaliated and Jones came back with another 3-pointer and the game was tied at 6-6. The Raiders were struggling to get the ball in the basket. Rebounds weren’t much of a problem but the north hoop was not cooperating. The first quarter finished at 12-10 in the Raiders favor.

Second quarter tightened the game even more as the struggling Raiders failed to hit several free-throw shots. Antwerp, meanwhile, was burning up the court with baskets across the board including Brandon Pendergrast making a foul shot after scoring from the key. Corbin Linder and Justin Speice topped the Raiders score in this period. Half-time began with Antwerp and Wayne Trace only one point different.

Third quarter made all of the difference in the world for both teams. The Archers appeared to be fatigued after the first half of full-court press from Wayne Trace. The home team bounced back to their usual self. Ethan Linder’s game had been cold in the first and second periods, but now scored 10 points this period alone. Twenty-one points altogether for the Raiders. Antwerp’s Trenton Copsey had a good quarter in this period with a 3-pointer and a shot from the key. Due to the turnovers in this period, the Archers finished with only nine points in this period.

By the time the fourth quarter came around, it was almost too late for Antwerp to come back. It was Copsey’s best, but the rest of the team struggled to post numbers on the board. The game finished at 63-46 and the Raiders go on to play the Bulldogs in the championship on Friday.

The good news for Antwerp is they had a great night at the free-throw line. Out of 16 free-throws, the team only missed one shot, producing a 94% keeper rate. Wayne Trace will need to improve their attempt vs. made ratio in the coming games. They made only 65% of their free-throws.

Score by Quarter:
Antwerp: 12 14 21 16 = 63
Wayne Trace: 10 15 9 12 = 46

Score by Player:
Antwerp: Jones 10, Mills 4, Pendergrast 3, Williamson 11, Copsey 16, Longardner 2.
Wayne Trace: Miller 11, E Linder 18, Shepherd 6, C Linder 20, Vest 1, Speice 7.

Antwerp congratulates Trenton Copsey and wishes him well in the future. This is his last basketball game for the Antwerp Archers.

More pictures at the westbendnews.net

Back at the beginning of the year, Stryker travelled to Antwerp to take on the Archers. In January the Panthers won by 11 points. The rematch took place at Paulding High School in the second game of the tournament after Antwerp beat Pettisville and Stryker won against Patrick Henry. The game began after the Raiders finished cutting down their victory nets.

Clearly, the Panthers had the upper-hand with a 15-9 record while the underdogs took the home chairs and a 10-14 record.

Fast and Furious was the name of the game in the first period. Both teams were on top of the competitive match with Antwerp holding a one point lead. Sam Williamson and Trenton Copsey were both nailing points left and right. Trey Mills also had nice run from the foul line. Williams had 2, 3-point baskets. Copsey and Matt Jones also had added 3-point baskets.

Second quarter is where Antwerp was able to take the game. They held Stryker at bay with only four points added to the list. Antwerp’s gain was 12 points, giving the Archers a nine point first half lead.

The Archers have struggled in the past when the game would get close and the second half there were several times when the Panthers brought the game to within four, yet the home team did not choke as they have in the past.

The time came down to the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and Stryker began to foul, intending to gain control of the ball. They didn’t count on Williamson, Mills, or Jones to be hitting their foul shots. Not every one of the shots counted, but most went on the post.

The game finished in the local team’s favor, giving a nice win for the sake of reciprocity – a sectional win Antwerp clearly deserved. Coach Hammer said he was happy with the team and how they pulled together. Record keeper Tim Copsey said it’s been two years since Antwerp won sectionals.

Great job for this team!

The Archers will take on the other county rival who won Sectionals, Wayne Trace, and will play the first game of Districts at Van Wert on Tuesday, March 10.

Antwerp is now 11-14, and Stryker is 15-10.
Score by Quarters:
Antwerp: 17 12 10 26 = 65
Stryker: 16 4 12 22 = 54

Antwerp Scorers: Matt Jones 8, Trey Mills 4, Sam Williamson 25, Trenton Copsey 24, Josh Longardner 4
Stryker Scorers: Brannan Woolace 4, Brody Shock 7, Parker Ruffer 23, Tanner Clingaman 14, Israel Aguilar 4, Chad Ruffer 2

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Wayne Trace took on Pettisville Blackbirds on Thursday, March 5 at Archbold. The game followed wins by both teams in the Sectional championship.

Wayne Trace took an early hit in the first quarter when they failed to hold down the Blackbirds offense, nearly doubling the Lady Raiders score. Gracie Gudakunst, Shayna Temple and Leah Sinn all had three-point baskets in this game.

The second quarter brought about a change for the Lady Raiders as they held the opponents score in check at 4, but they couldn’t post much either and the half ended at 11 – 19 in favor of Pettisville.

It was a game of celebration and one for the record books as Erin Mohr hit her 1000 point mark. Not only did she do this in her career, but she is the first female at Wayne Trace to achieve this in her junior year. This year totaled 456 and her career total is now at 1009. Fantastic for young Mohr!

The third period contributed to the score for Wayne Trace but still coulnd’t hit Pettisville points. The fourth quarter is the best for the Lady Raiders at 19-16. The last 30 seconds alone Wayne Trace added 5 points. If only they could have done this the rest of the game!

The game went to Pettisville at 40-49 points, who will continue to on to the District Championship game.

The Lady Raiders finished their season with a positive 16-9 record.

Wayne Trace Scorers: Mohr 12, Temple 9, Gudakunst 10, Mead 2, Myers 4, Leah Sinn 3.
Pettisville scorers: Midala Avina 15, Jordyn Pursel 10, Dana Fricke 17, Alexa Lepelmeier 5, Kate Kauffman 2.

Score by Quarter:
Wayne Trace: 8 3 10 19 = 40
Pettisville: 15 4 14 16 = 49.

Photo by Jarrison Steiner. More pictures at westbendnews.net

Ethan Linder led his team from the beginning to take an early, strong lead against the Archers in the Friday night boys basketball game. He posted six points in the first quarter with his brother, Corbin, adding another five. Luke Miller and Corbin Linder both hit the three point baskets in this period. The Archer side was lead by Trenton Copsey with 3 points. The first ended at 9-20 and the state ranked team had the highest scored.

Second period was a different team for the Archers. They ran the ball and took several turnovers from the Raiders and took a five point margin back from the southern Paulding team. Justin Spiece had the highest points for the Raiders and Matt Jones took the top spot for Antwerp. The half finished 23 to 29 with Jones hitting a 2 point basket with 2 seconds left on the clock. Antwerp was back in the game, putting the hut on the Raiders.

Antwerp kept it up in the beginning of the third quarter and narrowed the Raider lead to only 3 points at the 6 minute mark. Strangely enough, it hit Wayne Trace just right to swing the momentum back to their side of the court. The Archers had a great quarter at 14 but not as good as the Raiders, stretching their lead by adding 22 on their side of the board. Jake Arend and Luke Miller both shined brightly in this period and on the Antwerp side of the court, it was Copsey who had an outstanding game.

The first and the fourth were identical for the guests while Antwerp had their best at 15 in this period. This time was an intense last act as Sam Williamson used his fourth foul and called as intentional. Ethan was at the line and scored both of those points. The Archers though didn’t give up. Most of their’s were foul shots. Both teams were over their limit on fouls. Antwerp and Wayne Trace both had good nights. The final score was 52-71.

This is the 26th Green Meadows Conference Title for the Paulding County School and the third straight leage title.

Scorers of the Game:
Antwerp – Copsey 16; Jones 13; Mills 8; Williamson 6; Poulson 3; Buchan, Longardner 2, Pendergrast 2
Wayne Trace – E Linder 18; C Linder 16; Miller 10; Arend 9; Spiece 7; Vest 6; Shepherd 4; Saylor 1

Score by the Quarter:
Antwerp – 9 14 14 15=52
Wayne Trace – 20 9 22 20=71
Antwerp is now 7-13. Wayne Trace is now 18-1.

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